The Director of Elementary Education has been ordered by the Orissa High Court to provide an update on the identification process of teachers who were appointed to government schools on the basis of fictitious educational certificates. Additionally, the Court has requested that the concerned department submit an affidavit in this respect.
Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice MS Raman, a two-judge panel, ordered that the Director of Elementary Education provide a statement in the affidavit regarding the claim that nonexistent students were admitted due to embezzlement of funds from the Midday Meal programme.
The High Court made the decision, according to Times of India, during a six-year-old Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that addressed concerns regarding the appointment of teachers in different schools under the School and Mass Education Department by means of purportedly falsified educational certificates.
According to the bench, it was clear from the records and order sheets that efforts had been made to identify the teachers who were allegedly appointed by presenting forged certificates. Criminal cases have been filed against some of them, and some of them have also been dismissed. The process of identifying these fraudulent educators is still in progress, though.
